I am prepared to be shouted down by the fan club but I really feel like I have been sold a bill of goods with this vehicle. It is advertised as a car that can be driven on electric for 20 miles and THEN driven on gas. If you live in a northern climate, this is just not the case. If I lived in Florida, I would love this car. I love it in the summer.
In New York state, this is a gas car for 6 months of the year. It is just now occasionally starting to run on battery in the first five minutes of driving. It starts the engine with no cabin heating turned on (the system off completely), the EV button set before moving and in ECO mode. I know this is a frustration for many because I see it on this forum. This is just not right. I bought this car for the savings through electricity vs. gas and for the environmental benefit. I am greatly disappointed by how much I have unnecessarily polluted with this car and I am very disappointed by how much money I am now wasting from paying for gas vs electricity I generate from solar panels.
I think that enough people have this issue that we should hold Mitsubishi accountable. Am I crazy that all they would need to do if they are really concerned about cold engine starts is wait until the battery is at say 20% and then start the engine? This car can drive on all battery. It has good torque if you need to speed up quickly. Why not wait until you might actually need the engine to start it? But they don't care. Mitsubishi really stinks. Anybody else want to hold them accountable or do we just want to make excuses for them and allow them (and all other companies that sell PHEVs that seem to do the same in the cold) to rip us off?
